Myofibroblasts have been thought to participate in subepithelial fibrosis in asthma, but the mechanism of myofibroblast induction has not been fully understood. In this study we investigated ...injury-related myofibroblast induction in a coculture system of guinea-pig epithelial cells and fibroblasts cocultured in a human amnion chamber. After pseudostratified epithelial cells were mechanically scraped, migrated flat epithelial cells differentiated into cuboidal appearances on Day 4 and then returned to their original shapes on Day 8. During the course of the epithelial redifferentiation, it was found by Northern blot analysis, immunohistochemistry for alpha-smooth muscle actin, and electron microscopic observation that the myofibroblasts were transiently induced on Day 4. The myofibroblast induction was inhibited by the blocking of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 and thrombospondin (TSP)-1, indicating that the activation of TGF-beta1 by TSP-1 would induce myofibroblasts. This finding was also supported by a transient upregulation of TSP immunoreactivity and TSP-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) in fibroblasts. Interestingly, epithelial injury reduced TGF-beta1 immunoreactivity in the amnion membrane but did not affect TGF-beta1 mRNA in epithelial cells and fibroblasts, indicating that TGF-beta1 supplied from the extracellular matrix can participate in myofibroblast induction. Concurrently with myofibroblast induction, procollagen type I and III mRNAs were upregulated in fibroblasts, and obvious collagen deposition was observed ultrastructurally around the myofibroblasts compared with the fibroblasts. These results indicate that induced myofibroblasts can be functionally more active in producing collagen than are resting fibroblasts. The present study suggests that epithelial injury stimulates TGF-beta1 release from the extracellular matrix and its activation via TSP-1 production, causing collagen synthesis through myofibroblast induction.
Pain signaling is achieved by electrical impulses in the body; however, some electrical abnormalities can cause pain in the body without generating any visible symptoms. This phenomenon is sensed by ...the brain and a signal that may affect cardiac rhythms is immediately transmitted to the heart. To evaluate heart rate variability (HRV), the balance correction between an increase and decrease of heart rate was recorded in real time. Using a special method for spectral-analysis of the HRV, techniques for analyzing the essence of pain were developed, namely, the 'Balance index' and the '3D spectrum evaluation method'. Using these techniques, an alpha wave-like factor or a beta wave-like reaction can be obtained, and the nature and strength of pain can be displayed as spectral zones, as in a rainbow. The balance reaction can be shown by analyzing data in the frequency band using a 1/f-like spectral-analysis method. Additionally, emotional reactions can be detected using a 'Balance index' that can demonstrate imbalance responding to the pain. The mental state of the subject can also be inferred because this technique is adapted from the 1/f fluctuation theory related to the best balanced 1/f-sound wave in nature that comforts the human mind, similar to music (artificial sound wave). In this study, the variety and intensity of pain were determined from the frequency band resulting from the 1/f-spectral analysis of HRV fluctuation. These techniques could explain several situations related to medication or anesthesia and can be helpful in preventative treatment and/or explaining the differences in the effectiveness of various techniques for the rehabilitation of chronic pain.
This study was undertaken to develop a new autonomic scoring scale distinct from the conventional sympathetic or parasympathetic parameters cardiac autonomic response.
The parameters were obtained ...from a log-log scale of frequency (f ) vs. power spectral (P) amplitude of heart rate variability (HRV). A gradient value in which the graph decreases towards a high frequencies on the X-axis, while showing an absolute value beta itself based on the formula 'P = f (-beta)' was newly named the 'Balance index' by implying a balanced state in the living body. The index was categorized into four bands based on the appearance of the whole frequency ranges (T-Balance Index). Therefore, we compared the responses of the following groups: the patient test group (Group PT), the normal test group (Group NT), and the normal non-test group (group NN).
Significant differences in parameters were observed among the three groups. In addition, the difference between the 'High-side Balance Index' and the 'Low-side Balance Index' was 0.75 +/- 0.12 vs. 0.07 +/- 0.04 (p < 0.005) for groups NT vs. PT. This novel analyzing method was useful for evaluating the subtle changes in a living body to regulate the living-power (strength of vitality). Moreover, the difference between the 'T-Balance Index' and 'SV-Balance Index' was 0.18 +/- 0.12 vs. -0.21 +/- 0.15 (p < 0.01) for groups NT vs. PT.
One application of new parameters 'Balance Index' is its ability to evaluate the vital or emotional functions of unconscious patients in a critical condition undergoing a sense challenge test. This method assists in improving our ability to measure the early stage of conscious recovery with greater accuracy by using our novel analysis method for performing senses challenge test, with the aid of media such as music.
In Vitro Reconstitution of the Tracheal Epithelium Goto, Yukio; Noguchi, Yoshiko; Nomura, Akihiro ...
American journal of respiratory cell and molecular biology,
02/1999, Letnik:
20, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
We have developed a unique in vitro reconstitution system for tracheal epithelia of guinea pigs. In the system, a human amnion membrane was used as a basement membrane and the tracheal epithelial ...cells were cultured on the epithelial side of the membrane. Three weeks later, the tracheal fibroblasts were co-cultured on the serosal side of the amnion membrane and the culturing was continued for an additional 10 d. The morphology of the cultured epithelial cells consisted of a pseudostratified columnar ciliated epithelium from cuboidal ciliated epithelium during the last 10 d of the culture period. Epithelial cells included both goblet-like and basal cells. In addition, the frequency of each type of differentiated cells was almost identical to that of in vivo tracheas. Interestingly, the same results were obtained when the conditioned medium of the tracheal fibroblasts was used instead of the fibroblasts themselves. These results suggest that epithelial-mesenchymal interaction is likely involved in growth and differentiation of epithelial cells in vivo in a soluble factor(s)-mediated manner. As well as the epithelial cells, the fibroblasts also formed a multilayer during the last 10 d of co-culturing. This indicates that in vitro reconstitution of tracheal epithelia is achieved without addition of any exogenous growth or differentiation factors. The reconstitution system is shown to be useful for investigating the cellular and molecular interaction of epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Possible applications of the culture system and possible factors involved in growth and differentiation of epithelial cells are discussed.
Disturbance of autonomic nervous activity has been thought to play a role in the climacteric symptoms of postmenopausal women. This study was therefore designed to investigate the relationship ...between autonomic nervous activity and climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal Japanese women.
The autonomic nervous activity of 40 Japanese women with climacteric symptoms and 40 Japanese women without climacteric symptoms was measured by power spectral analysis of heart rate variability using a standard hexagonal radar chart. The scores for climacteric symptoms were determined using the simplified menopausal index.
Sympathetic excitability and irritability, as well as the standard deviation of mean R-R intervals in supine position, were significantly (P < 0.01, 0.05, and 0.001, respectively) decreased in women with climacteric symptoms. There was a negative correlation between the standard deviation of mean R-R intervals in supine position and the simplified menopausal index score. The lack of control for potential confounding variables was a limitation of this study.
In climacteric women, the standard deviation of mean R-R intervals in supine position is negatively correlated with the simplified menopausal index score.
The last moment of the end-of-life in ICU is almost unconscious, thus any emotional discharge appearing or not in this time has not been proved. Then, using the non-linear heart rate variability that ...has made the brain-heart transmission, it focused on the occurrence or not of an emotional reaction in this moment contracting with a normal REM-sleep dream. By a small memory heart rate monitor and using 1/f-like spectrum analysis method by 1 ms based on ‘thetheory of the comfort feeling by the 1/f sound fluctuation in the natural world widely’, and the new parameters of 4-balance indices, i.e. ‘As-Bal-I’, ‘SV-Bal-I’, ‘Hs-Bal-I’ and ‘Ls-Bal-I’ were calculated every 5 minutes interval using a MemCalc System. As the results, the patients immediately before cardiac arrest showed the rise-up of the ‘Hs-Bal-I’ as the cardiac activity struggling until then and also showed a sudden rise-up of ‘As-Bal-I’ as the emotional parameter and exceed over the ‘SV-Bal-I’. There was a little difference between the emotional dream reaction during the normal REM sleep and the end of life. That is, when the numerical level of ‘As-Bal-I’ was 0.5-1.5, it will be pleasant feeling, but this level was in upper than 2.0, it will be with painful. In conclusion, even if the patients were in unconscious, they might be visualized various emotional worlds like the dream phantasm immediately before death in the end-of-life. Like this, the Balance indices are useful parameters of fall down transmission system of information from brain center to cardiac.
Endotoxin induces nitric oxide synthase (NOS), resulting in relaxation of gastric smooth muscle. The authors examined the effect of NO produced in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment on ...gastric emptying in rats, and they also examined the effects of a selective inhibitor of inducible NOS (iNOS), aminoguanidine, and a suppressor of iNOS gene expression, dexamethasone.
Male Wistar rats weighing 200-250 g were used. LPS-treated rats received LPS (0.2-10 mg/kg) diluted in physiologic saline intraperitoneally. Before and at different intervals up to 8 h after administration of LPS, measurements of gastric emptying were performed in groups of 3-5 rats, by determining the amount of phenol red remaining in the stomach 20 min after intragastric instillation. In additional group of LPS (2 mg/kg)-treated rats, the gastric fundus was isolated 6 h after administration, and the tension changes in response to L-arginine, a substrate for NOS, and electrical transmural stimulation (3 Hz, 5 s) were recorded isometrically.
(1) Gastric emptying was delayed by pretreatment with LPS in a dose- and time-dependent fashion (reduction from 68 +/- 12% to 22 +/- 7% with a dose of 2 mg/kg for 6 h). Aminoguanidine (50 mg/kg) or dexamethasone (5 mg/kg) partially inhibited the delay (to 39 +/- 4% or to 40 +/- 10%, respectively). (2) L-arginine (0.1 mM) produced a relaxation (28 +/- 2% reduction in active tension) in the gastric fundus strips isolated from LPS-treated rats but not from LPS-untreated rats. The relaxation was inhibited by aminoguanidine (1 mM). In contrast, the relaxation response to the electrical stimulation was not affected by aminoguanidine (0.1-1 mM).
The present study suggests that NO, probably produced by iNOS, is one of the factors involved in the delay of gastric emptying in the LPS-treated rats and probably in those with sepsis.
The median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) of the hypothalamus is involved in the osmotic control of neurohypophysial hormone release and drinking behavior. At the same time, renal sympathetic nerves exert ...multiple effects on renal functions such as regulating renal blood flow and urinary sodium excretion. We made the hypothesis that the MnPO may also regulate body fluid balance by exerting an influence on renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA). In this study we examined the effect of electrical stimulation of the MnPO on RSNA and the contribution of the MnPO to the change of RSNA induced by intracerebroventricular injection of hypertonic saline in the male Wistar rat. Electrical stimulation of the MnPO and the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) elicited an increase in RSNA. This increase of RSNA elicited by electrical stimulation of the MnPO was reduced by microinjections (100 nl) of 10% lidocaine or 4 mM cobaltous chloride (a synaptic transmission blocking agent) bilaterally into the PVN. Both RSNA and the mean arterial pressure (MAP) were increased by the injection of 1.5 M NaCl into the third ventricle, although heart rate (HR) was not significantly changed. These responses of RSNA and MAP were diminished by microinjection of 10% lidocaine (100 nl) into the MnPO. Our results suggest that the MnPO is involved in body fluid regulation not only by controlling vasopressin secretion and water intake but also by modulating central sympathetic outflow which regulates body fluid balance through an effect on the kidney.
Electrical stimulation of the dorsal penile nerve (DPN) produced orthodromic excitation in about half of oxytocin cells in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). In contrast, less than 10% of vasopressin ...cells were excited. Tactile stimulation of the glans penis by a paintbrush produced excitation in 40% of oxytocin cells. Castration did not prevent activation of oxytocin cells. These results suggest that somatosensory information from the penis is transmitted to the PVN through the DPN and that such affarent input preferentially innervates oxytocin cells.
